SaiRam Dear Members. Please find below the latest Sri Sathya Sai Center of Loudoun Newsletter.
Please join us for Global Akhanda Bhajans Shruthi Session on Oct 26 3 pm – 5 pm and 5 pm to 5:30 pm for Medley Practice (Men and Women) @ 24809 High Plateau Ct, Aldie ,VA. Please also join us with family again on Sunday Oct 27th for Regular Center Devotional Activities and SSSE Classes @ Hovatter Elementary School in Aldie – 41135 Collaboration Dr, Aldie, VA 20105.
More Details about Devotional, SSSE, Seva, and YA Activities below.
SRI SATHYA SAI GLOBAL COUNCIL – ZONE1 (USA- REGION 2)
A Warm and Loving Sai Ram Dear Members,
Hope all of you had a divine and wonderful week with Swami’s Grace!
With the Divine Grace of our Dear Swami, last Sunday Oct 20th, we had an insightful Avatar Declaration Day Celebration with talk by Special Guest Speaker Brother Arun Uthayan from Canada. Brother narrated so many experiences with Avatar Declaration Day related messages, and had interactive sessions with SSSE kids and members. We Thank Swami for sending Brother to us on that Auspicious Day.
We also announced the upcoming Officer Bearers Selection Process for next term 2025-2026, and also about the upcoming Oct 26 Pragati Patham Zoom Call.
See below for important details.
Please find this week's Centre Newsletter, updates from all wings (Devotion, SSSE, Seva & YA) along with Center Calendar for October 2024 and Zonal/National and Regional updates.
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PRAGATHI PATHAM – SPECIAL STUDY CIRCLE SESSION FROM PRASANTHI NILAYAM on Saturday October 26, 2024 from 11.00 AM to 2.30 PM EST. This is a very important and exciting Study Circle session with Prof. Sudhir Bhaskar heading the session from Prasanthi Nilayam. It will be an interactive session primarily discussing 2 specific discourses by Swami. (The Heart of the Organization and The Responsibility of the Badge) with the following primary objectives:
1. To facilitate one’s inward journey,
2. To understand the role of Service (seva-mandated for each spiritual aspirant) in their inward journey, and
3. To be aware of the “What, Why, and How” of service (seva) as a spiritual practice.
Interested members can join the session from Brother. Prasad Nistala’s residence 25058 Prarie Fire Sq, Aldie VA 20105 starting at 10:30 AM EST.
PARTHI PILGRIMAGE CENTENNIAL YEAR 2025 (July 10 -13, 2025) – Registration is now open. We are truly blessed by His Grace to embark on both an inner and outer journey to our spiritual source, Prasanthi Nilayam. Parthi Pilgrimage, set during the centennial year, has been confirmed by the ashram authorities for the auspicious dates of July 10-13, 2025. see flyer below.
Sri Sathya Sai Center of Loudoun (SSSCL) Feedback Form: We are requesting all members to provide your feedback about how the center is functioning or anything to improve center operations using the link below.
“Deha virakti (detachment from body consciousness) will free you from the grief of bondage, and Daiva asakti (attachment to God) will give you the bliss of liberation and merger with God”
Regular Devotional Session on Sunday Oct 27th from 9:30 AM onwards.
Tentative Agenda
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM – Setup (Please join if available)
9:45 AM – 10:00 AM – 3 Oms, 21 Samastha Lokah, Swami Darshan Video,
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Global Akhanda Bhajans Medley Practices – Men and Women.
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM – Practice of Shivopasana, Nama Lithika Japam, Ashtothram Chanting
10:50 AM – 11:35 AM – Open Bhajans, Swami Bhajan & Closing prayers.
SSSCL – Global Akhanda Bhajans
Sai Ram All,
As Global Akhanda Bhajans are fast approaching, this year we shall be offering 12 hour bhajans on Saturday Nov 9th 2024. Please mark your calendars, more details to follow.
Address: 42078 Barrymoore Place, Chantilly VA 20152.
Last Day for RSVP – Tonight, Friday October 25th 2024.
Those who have not attended last Saturday, Please be sure to attend the session tomorrow
Mandatory shruthi sessions and bhajan practice on Oct 26th Saturday @ Aldie – 24809 High Plateau Ct, Aldie ,VA from 03:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Bhajan Practice
5:00 – 5:30 PM – Medley Practice (Both Men & Women)
As part of this service activity we are collecting old/used eyeglasses(Including reading and child). These eyeglasses will be dropped off at the Eyeglass Recycling center of Northern Virginia. Donated previously owned eyeglasses will be distributed to those in need around the world. Please bring it to the Center on Sunday.
For any Seva related questions, please reach out to Seva Coordinator, Brother Vijay @ seva@loudounsai.org.
Sai Ram
SSSCL – Young Adults Updates
YA Re-registration Form: Please look for information from YA reps to re-confirm as active YA of the center by registering using the link below. YA Re-Registration Form
Region 2 Fall YA Retreat from November 29th – December 1st, 2024: Sairam Dear Young Adults, I hope this message finds you well! With Swami's blessings, we are excited to announce that we will be conducting a region-wide Fall YA Retreat from November 29th – December 1st, 2024 (Thanksgiving Weekend) at the Vraj Temple in Schuylkill Haven, PA. The Retreat will be centered around the theme, “The Attitude of Gratitude.” We look forward to coming together as the Region 2 YA community and urge you all to register using this link by Saturday, September 28th, 2024.
Please see the attached flyer for more details and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us! Let us all celebrate this Thanksgiving together by showing our gratitude to our Beloved Swami.
Loving Sairam, Region 2 YA Team Sejal Rajagopalan T: (908) 487-3722
We express our immense gratitude to Dearest Swami in launching the “100 Acts of Kindness” National Sri Sathya Sai Global Council-USA Young Adult Service Project: a Heartfelt YA Service Offering to Our Dearest Swami, On Occasion of Swami's Holy Centennial Birthday Celebrations!
We envision every YA across the U.S. to fulfill at least 100 acts of kindness each, leading up to Swami’s Centennial Celebrations in November 2025. Partaking in this service sadhana is a special opportunity to offer our deepest gratitude to Swami through our unity of thought, word, and deed.
“Acts of kindness” could be leaving a kind thank you note, giving a small token of appreciation to the local fire station or custodial staff, spending time with the elderly, or just taking the time to smile and listen to others! It is any act of selflessness that promotes positivity and looking outwards to “see the Sai in all.” Each time you partake in an act of kindness, kindly log in your service experience through this brief Google Form: https://forms.gle/uVmgmYhhqGWdfK4b6.
Through this Google Form, we hope to collect an abundance of heartfelt reflections that can be compiled and expressed in a final offering for Swami’s 100th Birthday. It will be inspiring to read about the diversity of service projects and acts of kindness completed by all of us YAs, through a spirit of unity and teamwork.
The 100 Acts of Kindness Service Project is simply a goal, as the magnitude of our devotion and love cannot be quantified for our Dearest Swami! Let us all join together in offering these service acts of kindness to our Dearest Swami and may we experience His infinite love and grace.
If you have any questions and (or) looking for more YA updates, please reach out to our Female YA Rep Varsha Rao @ yafrep@loudounsai.org and Male YA Rep Arjun Sundaram @ yamrep@loudounsai.org
Sai Ram
SSSGC's Regional, National and Zonal Updates
Updates from DMV & Region 2 Centers:
None
SSSGC (USA) – Region 2 Updates:
Sadhana Initiatives for all devotees/centers in our region 2as a collective/individual offering to our beloved Bhagawan on his 99th Birthday and Centenary celebrations. Our Region 2 Devotional Coordinator Krishna Prayaga in collaboration with Our SSSGC Region 2 Center Devotional Coordinators formulated the following.
Individual/Family Sadhana:
– Chant “Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavanthu” at least 9 times a day.
– Chant any or all of these Mantras at least 9 times a day
“Om Sri Sai Ram”, “Gayatri Mantra”, “Sai Gayatri” or “Mrutyunjaya Mantra”.
– Read Tapovanam once a month (Read the whole book in a day/week or a chapter a week, according to convenience/preference).
– Likhita Japa – Write “Om Sri Sairam '' at least for 9 minutes a day. ( The books will be collected and sent to Parthi to be used for Vibhuti Packaging.)
– Learn 9 New Bhajans before November 2024
– At Least for 9 minutes a day Read Swami’s Literature, Listen to Swami’s Speeches or devotees experiences about Swami
